The Heir of Salazar
by Zorlin
Summary: "My name is Toriphee, I'm a House-Elf, and I have a story to tell you, not about Potter, but about the one who made sure Potter could end Voldemort." - Best Selling in the Daily Prophet for the last three months! "No one from the old days denies the validity of Toriphee's accounts. We abided by his wishes." - Draco Lucius Malfoy, good friend of Potter.
1. Chapter 1

You've heard the stories about the Boy Who Lived. The Boy Who Came to Die. The one who slayed a Basilisk of Slytherin, the one who stared down the Dementors of Azkaban. You've heard of this legend, but sometimes a story is diluted. Sometimes, myths, as they fade, they lose their very substance, their very purpose and theme being lost to time. This is one of those cases. For every savior born, for every light, there is a darkness. For every Potter, there is a Gaunt. My master was one such Gaunt.

My name is Toriphee. I'm a house-elf, much like the fabled Dobby the Free Elf. My master's story is long, as long as Potter's and just as filled with heartbreak, horror, and heroism. But the difference is that Potter loved the limelight. He enjoyed his fame in the end. My master thrived in the darkness, and as soon as Voldemort was banished, returned to it, in the hopes that history would forget him. And forget him, it did. His story was lost to time, and even as Potter and his family enjoy their new celebrity status, my master raises an inquisition against the Dark Lord's hopefuls. Potter has become complacent, and in the vain hope to wake the Wizarding World from it's slumber, and to honor my master, I will tell you how Potter managed to overcome the lichly Thomas Riddle. The feared Dark Lord, Voldemort. He had help from the darkness. Help, from my master.

Darkness lies in every corner. The perspiration of fear lingers in the air as an acrid smell. Crying, sobbing, a small, bone-shriveled teenage woman grunts in the crawling hours of the morning. Frost permeates along the deadened bricks of Britain. Long has the clocks struck midnight, but dawn refuses to rescue the young Tee Gaunt from her blindness. The only thought, though, running through her young brain is the plea of death. The only accompaniment she is given is her family's house-elf, an elderly old grump of a man named Tawk.

Tawk is perturbed by her suffering, as it only pounds in his gray old head with frizzled old hair that he was stuck with the runt of the litter. What happened to the fabled Gaunt legends? Why was he stuck with a brat when he could have had a warrior? He was stuck here underneath this stanky old bridge in some deserted town while his mistress cries and heaves in suffering, to give to this world nothing but a pestilence, a weak runt meant to die.

Meanwhile, Tee tries her best to bear the pain. Though too busy to think of it, she could remember, in the back of her young mind, plainly when her cousin Tibrin came to visit. He spoke of the horrors he had witnessed in London. The Purge was going to come to them soon. At the time, her blood and veins froze in terror when the thought of the Aurors coming for her flashed through her mind. But Tibrin was a warrior, a wizard of little equal. She was comfortable when he was around, and when Tibrin got frisky and made clear his intentions, she thought bearing his child might insure her safety.

"Go on, then." Tibrin said cheerily. He had handed the lovely little Tee his finest backup wand. He was itching to see a main branch use magic. He had tales of the famous mainstay Gaunts and their illustrious, fabulous ferocity.

Tee waved her wand, perhaps with a little too much flair for his taste, and chanted the ever-familiar words.

"_Ignacio_!"

And his excitement bellowed over, he was quite literally sitting on the front of his seat. How remarkable it would be..if anything had happened at all.

"I don't understand," Tibrin said, standing, he walked to Tee, and lightly grabbed the wand. A look of befuddlement streaked his otherwise perfect face.

He raised the oak, plain wand and aimed at a chair.

With a simple flair, the chair twisted and malformed into a tiny, wooden and cloth rat, and began to scribble away with it's tiny wooden paws. A flash of a grimace appeared on the elder Gaunt.

The room turned a darker shade when Tibrin Gaunt raised the wand and chanted with an anger which Tee visibly was shook by.

"_Ignacio!" _

Flame burst from his backup, orange flicked across the room like a whip, and engulfed the woodrat, which shrieked in pain and terror.

Tee was shaking now, in fear and empathy for the animated creature. It lasted seconds, and the creature was burnt to the point that no sound emanated from it's ashy corpse.

"There's nothing wrong with my wand, Tevrony." he said calmly.

His voice peaked little, and the calmness unnerved the younger Gaunt. He turned to face her, and his tanned, scarred face was smiling its welcoming smile.

Tee composed herself.

"I suppose it's because I never learned...I never went to Hogwarts or- or anything, really, so I gu-"

Tibrin strode to her in one or two long steps. Tee raised her face in a smile until Tibrin wrapped his hand around her pale throat.

"There would have been a warmth, dear cousin."

"A wormf?" Tee choked out in effort.

"A warmth...that indicates at the very least that you exerted some magical energy."

His once smooth smile remained, but took on a much more sinister meaning.

Her heart pounded in her chest.

"I-I-I-" She stuttered in response.

"Which means..." He began, tightening his grip ever, ever so lightly, "That no witch has touched my wand. You're a filthy-"

He tightened his grip again, and Tee could feel her windpipe contorting to accompany his merciless grip.

"Wandless"

And with this, he raised his other hand to brush her hair lightly from her face. The elder Gaunt stared in his younger cousin's eyes, and saw the look of a traitor being found out.

"Squib."

He squeezed tighter, and this was the last thing Tee saw before she passed out, and the last she saw wholly of her cousin.

She awoke with Tawk at her side. Tawk said that Tibrin had taken the family wand and had left, calmly. Tee cried for the next few nights, and things went on normally for a few months, until the Aurors came to town in search of hopefuls.

She was no wizard, she had nothing to defend herself, and so Tee Gaunt packed what little she could and left, with her grumpy old elf at her side.

Months went by, Tee at first worked as a housekeeper, but once she could not walk anymore with her baby-filled gut and her legs started to refuse standing for long periods of time, she started selling her heirlooms one by one, in the hopes of surviving long enough to give birth to her offspring, so that she could use them to get enough sympathy from some family to board with.

But this pain! It was so unlike the quick moment of terror Tibrin had embued her with. For hours now she struggled to push her offspring to birth, and Tawk simply awaited between her legs, with a blanket awaiting the newborn, as was his duty.

When would this end? Would be the last thought before the pain became too much, and young Tee gaunt was overcome by the excruciating suffering, and passed out.

What you must know, dear reader, is that Tee Gaunt was no Dark Lord. Tee Gaunt was a teenaged girl who feared the wrath of those in power. I'm certain any muggleborn who suffered underneath the brief but horrible rule of Voldemort's Ministry of Magic would understand this sentiment. These descriptions were scried from the mind of Tawk himself, who was on the brink of death when my master found him in his old age. Tawk was surprised when my master called him, and even more so to learn that my master was a legendary warrior now. Tawk, like all Gaunt house-elves, was proud to serve such an eminent master, and was forthcoming with my master's scriers. The next parts I'm afraid, were post-humously scried from Tee Gaunt's corpse found in a secret Aurory that even Potter himself did not know existed.

Fluttering her eyelids, it took many moments for the young Tee Gaunt to realize she was damp, in pain, and for her to realize how blinding the sunlight was, and how deafening the sounds of the city she was hiding in was. But beyond all that, she heard a noise that made her heart race, and made her strong. The sound of a small child crying and bleating.

Tee looked around, looking for the one thing that would bring her refuge, least of all physical. She stood, shakily, and followed the sounds of her newborn, and the viscera of the placenta that Tawk had no doubt devoured in hunger. She found herself walking towards the nearby trash bin, and terrified, sprinted. But the young girl had no strength left in her weak body. She fell to the cold, wet cement, slickened by the night's rain. She had the urge to sob, but her newfound motherhood quickly stifled that urge. All effort she had was forcing her to stand on her malnourished and weak legs. It took time, but she stood. She walked, and found herself in extreme pain. But with each cry, it seemed as though her young child was egging her on, reminding her that she was being counted on by someone even more vulnerable then her. She reached the bin, and gazed upon her child, covered in the muck of the city, blood covering most of its newborn body, and the stench of all that, and feces permeated. But at that moment, Tee saw hope. She saw hope for herself and for the future. She gingerly picked the child up, and wiped its face off so she could get a good look on it. She limped back underneath the bridge, and strangely, the child immediately quieted down. It looked with curiosity on the kind giant who had rescued it from most of its discomfort, and did not dare to cry anymore.

Tee shakily kneeled, and leaned against the brick wall of the bridge. She unwrapped her child, and realized it was a boy. It seemed only natural. One day, if she was good enough a mother, she would have a true protector. She ripped at her dirty blouse for a piece of cloth, and did her best to clean him up, and then wrapped him up in the same bloody, shitty cloth. She smiled lazily, and continued to dreamily stare into her child's eyes, and suddenly, as if God himself spoke to her:

"Evrus."

Suddenly, a trash bag opposite her struggled, and a fat, grey ear popped out, wiggling in response to the sound. Tee heard a grumble and the rest of the fat, old and grey body showed itself, Tawk, covered in the viscera of her child's placenta.

A rare scowl covered her face, and a fury she did not know she had left in her raised. The scowl disappeared and instead, she looked back down and smiled at her newborn son.

"Tawk?" Tee said quietly.

"Yes, mistress." Tawk responded in autonomy, but in a grumble, as would befit someone who hated their servitude.

"If you ever harm my child..." She trailed off, and then looked at the elf with a pair of deadened eyes.

"Such as throwing him into a trash bin like he were nothing?"

To this, Tawk chuckled, he was going to respond _he is nothing, mistress_, until she responded with a tone of seriousness he did not expect.

"I will teach him to love the taste of Elf flesh."

Tawk blinked, and in never before seen respect, looked around, and found the nearest bottle.

"I'll find th' little tyke somethin' to slurp on, ma'am. M' apologies. Forget m'self sometimes."

Tawk walked briskly away from the new mother and her son, and though Tee was no wizard, she could smell the fear on Tawk. She smiled down at her child, droning out in space.

"Evrus. Your name is Evrus, darling."


	2. Chapter 2

Tawk waddled away in a rare tizzy, the stench of fear permeating his small and weak frame.

_I nearly pissed m'self! Who woulda thought? Lil' Ms. Gaunt's got some sort of pissantry I ain never seen before! That little tyke's sparked some life in her for once!_

As he mumbled and drowned himself in his own surprise, he absentmindedly snapped his finger on his right, emaciated hand and went from a sore sight to no sight at all. He perked his invisible Elfy ears and listened for the sounds of those infernal Muggle machines. He heard nothing, and so limply sprinted across the muggle bricks and mortar to the other side of the empty street. Tawk glanced around, his invisible pupils darting from place to place, eyeing for anything that could match his-

_Ah, there it is!_

**Kunningham's Milk Palace!**

_***currently pending merge with Megacorp**_

Tawk limp-ran his way to the back of the 'palace' (_Muggles have such delusions of grandeur..._) and gave the service door a few quick raps of his hand, and stood back.

Inevitably, a pimply young teenage boy almost drunkenly opened the door, so wide that Tawk nearly fell over in wonder.

_Muggles are so stupid! A doberman could get through that gap!_

Tawk, in spite of his weak and flabby body, nimbly lept through with nary a sound heard into the back room of the 'palace'. And what a wonder it was! Metal, plain, but sturdy shelves were stacked wall to wall in this gray old building with glass bottles of fresh milk. More importantly, as Tawk shivered blissfully, it was nice and frigid!

How long ago was it that Tawk had gorged himself on something that wasn't trash? As he licked his lip, a slight piece of viscera from the tyke's remnants ended up on his tongue and he gulped it down hungrily.

Too long. Long ago, Tee's parents had given Tawk the pick of the pickings, lapping up the prime beef, bacon, and every other lovely scrap the Gaunts hadn't the stomach for one reason or another. Now he was forced to eat literal rubbish to survive. Tawk thought it necessary to fill his stomach, after all, who was going to be doing most of the work for the mistress? Not that little tyke, but Tawk! And what these Muggles didn't know, couldn't possibly hurt them.

As Tawk stifled a raspy chuckle, he snatched 3 or so bottles, and stuffed one in his tunic for the brat. He then silently found the nearest closet, leapt inside, and closed it deftly. He greedily began to grasp at the bottles, and in his gluttony, failed to grasp at the condensating glass, and in almost slow motion, one of the bottles he was holding fell to the ground, and shattered with a roaring chorus. Muffled sounds of rushed movement pushed Tawk into action. He quickly laid the two bottles down in positions that might befit if all three had fallen at the same time, and stepped as far back as possible, and prepared himself.

The door opened and the older man, presumed manager, glanced inside the dark dingy closet toolroom.

"Goddamnit! Which one of you bastards did this?"

The heavily accented man said in his Scottish accent, then roughly slammed the closet shut, and luckily, it swung slightly open. Frustrated, but unmoved, Tawk grabbed a bottle and as quick as possible, limped back out of the Muggle store and back to his mistress.

Tee Gaunt was as calm as she was when she laid her threat to the elf, and Tawk could see she was already taking to motherhood like a fish to water. She was rocking the child back and forth with her weak and shriveled limbs, cooing him softly. Tawk limped over to his mistress tiredly, and lazily dropped the now-warm bottle next to her. He haphazardly hid the colder bottle from his mistress, using his rather large, and rather sullen and scarred, hands to cover the majority of the bottle from view. Tee softly adjusted herself, and picked the bottle up. She opened it, took a sip to affirm it's appropriate warmth, and laid it gingerly across the child's lips, who eagerly sipped at the delectable liquid. Tee smiled, but then spoke in a deceivingly menacing voice, akin to the one she used to threaten her servant earlier.

"Just so you know, the first half of that bottle you're trying to hide?"

Tawk cursed himself and his mistress's newfound competence visibly, and then moved the bottle into open view with both hands in offering.

"Of course this was for y-"

"Quiet, knife-ear."

Tawk gulped.

"It's mine. You can have the other half. Thank you. Evrus was getting hungry."

Tawk grumbled and went to sit down in his pile of trash.

This was going to be hell.

For the next month, Tawk spent it reviving his mistress and looking after little Evrus. Surprisingly, Tee rose quicker than either of them expected, and was stronger than she had been in a long time. Even though they still hid in the back alleys of the city, Tee knew they would have to move on soon. Already she heard passerby speaking about missing supplies and foodstuffs, Tawk's doing. Sooner or later, word would get out. An investigator would come ringing, or Tawk would rob the wrong person, one of her kind. And so, barely a month after December 3rd, 1979, Tee and Tawk, with Evrus in toe, ran through the dark streets of that nameless Muggle town, and took to the countryside, avoiding the big roads and highways in the hopes of finding some nowhere town to siphon resources from. And so this cycle continued, for months, which drug onto a year. Once she was strong enough, Tee began taking jobs with her son in tow, and luckily, Muggles seemed more sympathetic than she previously hoped, and she was raking in reasonable sums. Soon enough, she no longer needed to wear filthy cloths, and even better, she didn't seem so sickly anymore. It was in the small town of Burford that Tee Gaunt rose from her stupor, and though by no means was she as well off as her parents were, she scraped out a living for her son, working and earning enough money for boarding at a slophouse in Burford. She, for the first time in her life, no longer felt helpless or meek. And Tawk respected her much more- or so he seemed to. Evrus remained small and weak, but healthy. This went on for some time. No longer did Tawk steal on orders of his mistress, and no longer did they fear the inquisitor Aurors, for Tawk remained hidden well, and Evrus was far too young to manifest magic, while his mother was a magicless Squib. For the next year, Tee Gaunt was determined, and happy, and fulfilled. Until the fateful night of the Battle of Burford.

It was an hour or so after midnight, and Burford was deadly quiet. If Tee had been magically attuned like most witches her age, she'd have felt the uneasy tinge of Muggle Suppressant, a spell designed to keep Muggles unaware when wizards had to act in the open. But Tawk and Tee were not Muggles. And that's how they woke to a startling sound of combat.

Flickering blasts of light sped across the windowsill, through the boards and plastic one could clearly see sickly green tendrils darting amidst lightning the color of crimson, and the clear sound of chants filled the air.

A horrific _Avada Kedavra _chorus sung out, accompanied by those terrifying flicks of light, with a responding army of _expelliamus, stupefy, _and _Impedimentas_ to lash back, all the while Tee cradled her son and cooed him in the hopes that he wouldn't sob and attract the wrath of those that battled fiercely outside. Tawk trembled at the display of raw, awe-worthy power being displayed outside, and knew if they were found by either side of the conflict, they'd killing curse first, and ask questions later. And so he made himself as small as possible, shut his mouth, and prayed the child would do the same.

And all too soon, the disconcerting quiet dominated the soundscape, and Tee continued to coo her son.

Tee strained her ears in between her cooing, and heard the distant talk of the victors.

"...it doesn't seem right, does it?"

"What? That we won? Their leader's half-way 'cross the country and they're disorganized. What's to be surprised about?"

"Why they were here in the first place."

"What'dya mean? Death Eaters flock to small towns like this."

The first voice was gravelly, low, and Tee got the impression that it was a rather intelligent man behind said voice.

"Certainly, but why _here_ in particular? Usually they pick small Muggle towns with strategic important to barricade themselves in, or an iconic one to terrorize. But here? There's no entrenched defensive spells, and there's less than a few hundred people here. Why? Why here?"

"I try not t' question the _why_ Severus, my job's to root out the filth, not ask why the filth rooted where they did."

"Moody, you just enjoy the fight, admit it."

To the chorus of voices, Tee only noted the on-edge, almost insane voice and the low, gravelly voice as distinct. Just as if on queue, the lead Auror, with his low and grating voice stopped any future argument.

"Enough. I am not convinced that the Death Eaters weren't here for the same reason we were."

"We were here to follow up on a report of Death Eaters. You're saying they were looking to regroup?"

"Which means there's more scum afoot!" To this, the unstable, accented voice chuckled loudly.

"Perhaps." The gravelly voice spoke, getting more clear, and rising in volume. Tee suppressed a terror-filled tremor in her core, knowing that he was drawing near the abandoned home, the extension of the slophouse that she was renting.

A pale, wiry hand pulled down some of the plastic on one of the windows, and a pair of beady, black eyes peered into the home.

Tee's fear rose in her throat, and could only hope that the darkness would shield her and her kin from the eyes of the Auror.

A dark, fury-embedded voice shouted an all too familiar chant.

"_Avada-_"

In an instant, the beady eyed Auror reacted and drew away from the window, and Tee heard his voice clear as day:

"_Avada Kadavra_!"

A deathly blast of viridian damnation blasted ridiculously close to the windows, but Tee heard the furious voice laugh.

"You missed, traitor!"

"But I won't!" the unstable man shouted, "_Crucio_!"

A ghastly howl of pain filled the night air, and all the individuals of the house shook in empathy, and in the moment, Tee neglected her comforting of the child, and Evrus began to make small, distressed noises. A struggle could be heard loudly, and a sick splat of a punch was distinctly heard, and finally, the beady eyed Auror began his interrogation.

"Why were you here? Did the Dark Lord give you direction, or are you really so foolish to act so brazenly?"

"Piss off, you lanky wanker!"

And punctually, the 'lanky wanker' chanted:

"_Crucio_!"

An accompanying cry of suffering rang out, and the lead Auror slowly repeated.

"Why..here?"

"A'right, a'right! Stop the pa-i-in! I'll tell ya', I'll tell ya'!"

"Then talk."

A moment passed, and only the small troubled sounds of a baby could be heard in the dingy room of that broken down house.

"Well?!" the unstable man shouted out. Almost immediately, the Death Eater shouted out in frustration.

"It's a Gaunt, a'right? We were looking for a Gaunt."

"A Gaunt?" Multiple Aurors asked simultaneously. But the beady lead Auror aggressively continued.

"The Gaunts are nothing now, don't lie to me fool!"

"It's true! It's true! I don't know nothin' 'bout nothin' but Malfoy was goin' on and on about how there was a mainstay Gaunt left, how the only other Gaunt worth a damn, Tibrin, had died to that Potter bitch, but Tibrin mentioned there was another Gaunt, a main branch one at that, and sent us to find 'im."

Desperation peaked in his voice, and throughout his explanation, panic spread through Tee's body. She had been careful, how, how on earth did they find her?

The lead Auror continued.

"And? Did you?"

"No, you blindsided daft twat! If we had found 'im you'd all be dead! I've seen what Tibrin was capable of, and the main branch Gaunts are supposed to be ten times better!"

"Why would you think they'd be here, in this backwater, instead of closer to the main branch Gaunt's lands?"

"We were using the Gaunt Registry, a'right? A gift from the Dark 'ord 'imself!"

The Registry? Tee had heard of it. Tee's father had said the head of the primeval branch, a stupid, fat, pot-bellied drunkard had stashed the enchanted Gaunt Registry somewhere in the Gaunt Lands, and the Dark Lord, a descendant of the aboriginal Gaunts, had claimed it for himself to locate any worthy Gaunts to join his cause.

-The Registry, much like the Marauder's Map, dear reader, was a remarkable piece of work, but instead of relying on observation of Hogwarts through advanced scrying methods, the Registry of the Gaunts tracked the blood relatives with a certain amount of Gaunt ancestry throughout the globe. My Master has used it a number of times in his travels, but Voldemort used it mainly to either eliminate or assimilate Gaunt survivors. Supposedly, according to an unimportant Death Eater during the Battle of Burford, Lucius Malfoy had used the Registry to locate Tee Gaunt. This led to the Battle that cold March night.-

When it became clear that the interrogation would yield no further results, the Aurors restrained the sole surviving Death Eater, and the next few hours crawled by ever-so-slowly. The Aurors, Tee knew, would spend the next few days observing the town to see if the mysterious Gaunt would flee or show themselves in anyway whatsoever. Then, as per her recollection of the purges she knew of, they'd draw her out using painful scrying magics, and if that didn't work, they'd flush her out using (and she shook violently with fear when she thought of this) gryphon hounds specially trained by the Phoenixes and their Auror allies to sniff out the purer of blood.

Tee knew it would only be a matter of time before she was found out. And so, she thought, it was much, much better to not delay the inevitable. During the day, she hid her face in the old, dirty cloths she'd worn during her initial exile, and made her way to work. She explained to her boss, a gruff but patriarchal man, that she was being chased by violent men who worked for a loan shark (the only fair equivalent) and he'd immediately took to the young woman. He packed her a care package full of blankets, food, a canteen of water or two, and, especially, a gun. He explained the basic premise to the bewildered Squib, and she realized it may be her only defense, and listened intently. Afterwards, he said that he understood what it was liked to be chased, as he'd fell in bad with the law in some country called Fanlind(Editor's note: Most likely, Tee, as an insular Squib, heard Finland incorrectly) and had to run for it. He said he didn't expect her to pay him back, that it was an investment into Evrus' childhood, and that she'd better not waste it.

And so she didn't. She made a plan of action.

It was late in the March evening, dusk threatening to ruin the loveliness of Burford. Tee Gaunt rushed along with her son in a pack on her back. She had the Muggle firearm in her front pocket, tucked beneath her cheap leather belt. Tawk, invisible to most, toddled behind his mistress. But fate is a crueler mistress, as it just so happened that the Aurors in the sky on their state-of-the-art brooms reported the small abnormality of magical distribution.

-Tawk's invisibility was undetectable to the eye, but unknown to either him or Tee, the Ministry had authorized the use of a scrying type of magic that would alert them to any form of magical essence being dispersed. And once the town'd been cleared of any magical inhabitants, such as the few wizards, it was plenty easy to find Tawk's invisibility on their scrying globes.-

Strode from the nearest alley came a man in a dark, simple robe. He wore his hair plainly parted from the middle, and had black beady eyes attached to his pale unblemished face. Following behind him was a man with a shifty look, walking fast, his eyes darting around, looking for any danger. When those two came within 10 or so feet of the young woman, they looked around, as if searching for something.

Tee, meanwhile, recognized the beady-eyed Auror, and held her breath as she struggled with the urge to sprint as fast as possible away from them.

Instead, she maintained her brisk walking speed, hoping Tawk would not give them away, or they would not recognize the telltale signs of a Gaunt heir.

"Brim and hell stone, Snape! They said it was right in this sector. What are we missing?" The older, scruffier, and unsteady looking man cursed.

The ever-present gaze of the lead Auror perturbed Tee, and she could tell he was judging if she was the source of the disturbance.

That's when the older man briskly walked over past Tee's shoulder and she heard a raspy and familiar "_erf_".

She hesitated. She realized that soon Tawk would be found out, and despite how easy it'd be for her to leave him behind, to continue walking briskly and hope he'd be okay, Tee was not capable of abandoning her lifelong servant.

And so, without any further hesitation, the image of the Muggle weapon flashed in her mind, in all it's modest silver finish, and emaciated design that reminded her of skeleton fingers, and with a resolve she knew would damn her, Evrus, and Tawk, she drew the pistol in a flash.

"Leave him be!" Tee yelled desperately, and squeezed the trigger.

The older man, who was grasping the invisible Tawk tightly, looked to see the barrel of a Muggle weapon pointed at his face, and had no time to react.

A loud _**BANG!**_resounded throughout the streets of Burford, even if no muggle could hear it.

The older man tumbled over in pain, clutching at where his left eye was previously, and cursed incoherently.

Tee had a split second to realize what she'd done, and turned to take aim at the second intruder, but was stopped with an alarming "E_xpelliarmus!"_ which sent the metal savior of a tool flying far behind her onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Tawk had undid his invisibility spell in shock, and stood mouth agape at his mistress, who had thrown away her escape to protect him.

But it was for naught, as promptly, nearly a dozen Aurors spilled onto the road from adjacent alleys and streets, while a few more came in from the sky.

The thin, pale, and lead Auror looked to be unshaken by this act of desperate violence, as he held steady his wand pointed at the young woman's head.

"Such barbarism." He said with a cold menace.

He looked at the old, graying House Elf. It dawned on him then and there.

"So...you're the Gaunt, then?" He spoke clearly, but it had been long since a male wizard had looked upon the then-18 Tee, and recollections of Tibrin's fury filled her waking mind. She felt her resolve, her fury, and her strength tumble into shambles as fear and panic took root in her psyche.

"I- no! I'm no one! I'm...you were going to hurt him and I just- please!" Tee rambled, and fell to her knees in a pleading shameful stance.

"Don't hurt us! We just wanted to make a living here amongst the Muggles! We aren't Death-" She quickly spoke, but was cut off by a sickening, bloody crack that knocked her onto the cement in front of her, and it took but a few seconds for all the world to fade away.

_This?...is...how I die? How...we...die...? _


	3. Chapter 3

"She's a child, Severus!"

"She could have killed Moody if she'd aimed better, Lily!"

"Sirius..."

These words echoed in the back of the thrumming in Tee's skull, and even though she understood the words, she had yet to come fully back to her consciousness, and did not understand the context for them.

"She's coming to."

As she opened her eyes, Tee came face to face with some of the primeval members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore, the only wizard the Dark Lord feared, did not so seem to be very fear-inspiring. His voice was nonmalignant, and soft. The kind old man's manacles drooped on his nose, and he wore heavy, laden white robes that accented his graying hair and beard.

But besides him was the beady-eyed Auror and a few more well-known figures. The dangerous, infamous Sirius Black. He wore tattered and dark clothes, and sported more than a few scars, bandages, and bruises. He was well known to be a scrappy warrior for the Ministry, and by extension the Order and the Aurors. His scraggly hair hung loosely to the side, with a brief five o'clock shadow. And of course, who could forget the pinnacle muggleborn princess Lily Potter. She was speck-less and wore a light brown casual dress. Even though Tee held no hatred in her heart for the Muggles (especially after they'd treated her so kindly) a horrible bigotry for this Pureblood murdering cunt flew free in her heart. She felt her limbs flex in pure fury, but only her muscles moved, while her limbs stayed frozen. A spell, perhaps, but hell if Tee'd know.

"Try not to move, m'dear." The nonthreatening old Dumbledore spoke in a quiet, endearing voice.

"_Petrificus Totalus_ is all-encompassing, and straining yourself could hurt the muscles and tissues."

Tee's eyes fearfully darted to each person in the room. It was obvious she'd been kidnapped, and she felt the room up emotionally. Lily looked worrisome, while this "Severus" looked unemotional as ever, and Sirius wore a heavy scowl on his scarred mouth.

_Evrus?_

_Evrus!_

She strained herself and her stiffened body wobbled and shook in a frenzy.

"Please, Ms. Gaunt, please, I'll remove the spell. It's obvious you're under duress." Dumbledore began to undo the spell from toe to forehead, and it clicked with Lily as she saw the young girl's eyes dart farther to the doorways, looking for something.

"The boy?"

Sirius and Severus looked at Lily as she stepped forward with a look of empathy on her face.

"The child you carried? Is that what's got you worried? He's alright, I promise. He was terribly cold, he's wrapped up in a blanket and-"

As soon as her mouth was unfrozen, slurred and brazen words spilled forth from the young mother's mouth.

"You bastards! My boy, I want my child, I want Evrus! Get away from me!"

As soon as her legs were unfrozen, she kicked at the deceiving old man, and flailed uselessly, and Sirius and Severus restrained her by hand.

"I want my son, you monstrous fucks!"

Even through she slurred her speech, it was obvious how desperate she was, and her bravado was quickly placed with sobs and desperation.

"Please, let me see him! Let me hold him! He needs his mother, please!"

All four of the Order looked amongst themselves at the tattered, emaciated and weak young woman.

"His mother? You're...his mother?"

Sirius spoke with disbelief and accusation, but Lily quickly left the room and wordlessly returned with Evrus in hand.

"Here, he's unharmed."

Lily lowered the boy into view of the still-shaky Gaunt. Immediately, Evrus's eyes had an entrancing, calming effect on the flailing Tee. Tee hungerly took Evrus in his bundle, and she began to rock him silently.

"You'll be okay, Evrus. Shh, shh, you'll be okay. I'd never let them harm you. My sweet boy. My good boy."

She lost track of where she was and silently cooed him and comforted him for the next few minutes and all four of the Order looked on in bafflement.

"Ms. Gaunt..."

Her fury bellowed and she looked at the elder Order member with a hatred unfettered.

"Why did you bring me here? All I wanted was Evrus to grow up without you hunting him down like some dog! Tawk and I-"

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Tawk? Where is my House-Elf?"

Sirius coldly laughed.

"He's as stubborn as any pure-blood Elf. If you're worried he'll betray you and your Death-Eater friends, he's not said a word. More importantly, he's been retired and is living a life far away from the politics of the Gaunts."

"Death-Eater friends? Are you mad?"

As her mouth hung agape, she insanely laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

"You accuse me of monstrosity, when you have kidnapped me, put your devilish spells on me, and separated me from my child for God knows how long? You have some gall, Black."

Dumbledore's eyes softened.

"So you hold no allegiance with Voldemort?"

She stared at the bold old man.

"Yes, I speak his name, for I know his true name. Gaunt, Riddle, Voldemort, these are but titles for the Dark Lord to work through. But he doesn't work through you, does he? Why else would he send a squad of Death-Eaters to search for you? All other able-bodied Gaunts were eager to join his crusade."

She spoke hurriedly and angrily.

"It's true that most of the Branches joined him. I, of the main branch, was left at our manor in North Eastern England, because..."

And she, ashamed and bashed, quietly continued.

"Because God saw fit to cripple me in the ways of magic, to strike from my veins the god-given right of all Gaunts to weave the arcane. My father, rightly ashamed, left me home to die as they left to war."

"But Evrus-"

She looked down at her child and lovingly praised him.

"I don't think he's cursed! Tibrin was such a gifted wizard, and Squibness isn't passed on, this I know. With Tibrin's masterful blood and my main-branch heritage, he'll be a magnificent warlock one day. One that will make me proud, one that will protect me as I have always dreamed of. He'll be my savior."

"But until then-"

She looked up, and Dumbledore looked at the rage-filled blackened pupils of a madwoman.

"I have to protect him. I have to save him. And I'll do anything to protect him."

Dumbledore was humbled, and was beyond certain that they had nothing to worry about in regards to this woman.

"We'll return with milk for the boy and food for you. Rest easy. You have nothing to fear from us."

With this, Dumbledore pointed at the door, and though Sirius hesitated, Severus and Lily loyally followed Dumbledore out of the room.

"We're watching you, Gaunt. Don't you dare think I'm fooled. I know the Pure-Blooded families only cares of themselves."

She scowled at Black, and Black slowly left the room, and the door was closed.

Not but a few moments later, a small and middle-aged House Elf that was reminiscent of Tawk, minus the scraggy goatee and disdainful look, entered with a large platter. Cheese, bread, soup, a glass of water, and a baby bottle. The Elf looked respectfully down at the floor, as Tawk did with Tee's parents, and held the platter out.

"For the Gaunt mistress and the heir." he croaked out reverently.

"Thank you. You remind me of my Elf. What is your name?"

"M' name? Mistress, Kreacher is but a.."

To this, he hesitated, and Tee could tell he begrudgingly accepted the term.

"Servant, of the household of Black. The current head of house is that (bastard, he whispered almost incoherently) Sirius."

"I see. You would tell me if they had put anything in my food, or my child's, would you not, servant of Black?"

"Kreacher'd never let a Gaunt come to harm in the Black house!"

He growled in anger.

"The old lady'd never allowed it, nor will Kreacher!"

She smiled. _Grumpy and loyal, how __quaint__._

"Well, thank you Kreacher. You are excused for now."

"I live to serve, mistress."

With that Kreacher left the small room, which had obviously been a small child's beforehand, with the worn posters on the wall. It had been outfitted into some sort of holding cell, with only a chair inside. She laid the platter down onto the floor, and noted no chains or other bondage. Perhaps the wizards had a spell in plan? It didn't matter. She wouldn't try to escape. She'd do what was best for her child. She picked Evrus up, and laid the bottle against his lips, and he drank eagerly. He opened his bright, brown eyes and looked at the friendly giant who continuously fed him. When the bottle ran dry she cradled him, and rocked him to sleep. She decided to ease the painful hunger in her stomach, and ate the cheese, bread, and soup. With the slop she'd been forced to endure, it was heaven on her tongue. It didn't take long for her to finish the simple meal, and she was wanton for more, if she was honest. She was ashamed. She'd been kidnapped by the same sort of monsters who'd apparently murdered Tibrin, and many other Gaunts no doubt, and she was eagerly accepting the food. She stiffened her back in resolve.

_Being a Gaunt doesn't matter unless we survive. I will do everything in my power so that Evrus and I will endure. Even if it means consorting with these monsters._

Hours went by, and Lily, a new man, and Dumbledore entered. Though she didn't notice it beforehand, Lily Potter was rather plump, and flushed in the cheeks. _With child?_

"Hello again, Ms. Gaunt."

Lily's voice was warm, but Tee saw only a venom-dipped execution in her voice.

"What are you going to do with Evrus?"

The stately man, Lily, and Dumbledore didn't speak for a moment. It was Dumbledore's soft-spoken voice that rang out first.

"What did you think we were going to do to you and your boy, Miss Gaunt?"

"It's obvious. What you do to all those of pure blood. What you've been doing all over England. You're going to purge me. To kill me. I only ask that my son be allowed to live. He may be pure, but he's innocent!"

Desperation aside, Tee was trying to get a feel for the three. No matter how hard she tried to believe the opposite, her gut told her they weren't meaning to harm her yet.

The stately man stepped forward, with circle-propped manacles on his intelligent-looking eyes.

"You thought we'd kill you? An unarmed woman who is obviously under a lot of stress?"

Tee shot back with as much venom she could muster.

"Would it be any different to the dozens of my cousins and relatives you've murdered in their homes?"

A look of indignant pride ran across the stranger's face.

"They were murderers themselves, Death-Eaters take many forms Miss-"

"Is that going to be the excuse in my obituary? I was a Death-Eater? A Death-Eater who can't use magic, who hid as much as she could, one who was beaten and brought unconsciously into some den of iniquity?"

"You listen here, you are in no-"

The stranger stepped forward, and once more, as with the previous Auror, Severus, all courage sapped from her body, and she reflectively flinched.

"James! Leave."

Lily stepped forward, and grasped the stranger's shoulder. He took a double-take, as if disbelieving he was being unincluded in the affair. He shook his head, and walked sulkily through the room's only door on the left of Tee's chair.

Lily sighed.

"You're right. You're no Death-Eater. We verified your claims. Your father was killed in the battle of Salisbury. Your mother committed suicide thereafter, but left a note damning you for not being able to fight alongside your father."

_Mother? Father? Oh...mother, how I wish I could have died instead of being taken capture. Who knows what they'll do to me?_

Dumbledore continued.

"But...you still attacked an Auror of the Ministry of Magic. With a Muggle firearm, no less."

To this, he chuckled.

"If it'd been magic, your sentence would have been life in Azkaban, but using a Muggle weapon is not technically in the list of offenses that one can be sent to Azkaban for. However, for your child, and you, we think it best if you spend some time within the Ministry's care."

Her blood dropped in temperature in her veins. How could she escape? The ministry, they'll do horrible things to her. She'd heard what happened to the Gaunts they'd captured. Panic gripped her.

"I'd rather you kill me and my boy here, then."

The two wizards looked at the young woman in disbelief. Lily spoke in utter confusion.

"How can you say such a thing? Looking at you and your Evrus, I'd say you haven't had a decent meal in a long time. You'd damn him for what, pride?"

Fury rose in Tee's throat and burst forth in loud cacophony.

"Pride?! My mother, father, and everyone I've ever known is either fighting or dead! Everyone I've ever known is in such suffering! I've heard what you do to us Purebloods! You'll kill me and my boy in a slow way instead of a merciful death. I know what you'll do, and I'd rather you poison a bottle of wine and milk for my boy, so we can drift off here peacefully, rather than hear him wail in pain for weeks on end!"

Tears formed and exploded from her tear ducts, and no longer could Tee hold back the desperation, the depression, the blackness in her soul.

"Everyone...I've ever known...is dead. All because of some stupid war. I just wanted my boy to live a different life. And now, he's in the heart of it, all because of my stupid family name."

What surprised her most, then and there, was that the woman who had murdered Tibrin, the muggleborn, Lily Potter, embraced her with a warmth that Tee hadn't felt since childhood, when her mother had not yet discovered her Squibness. She was shocked, taken by surprise, to the point that she couldn't quite put words to it.

"It's alright, Miss. Evrus, and you, are going to be okay."

And in that moment, all that hatred and fury she'd felt was replaced by this confusion in her heart. She was supposed to hate her, and even if she couldn't hate her for being a Mudblood, she'd murdered Tibrin, the father of her son. But right now, all she felt was comfort, and relief. Tibrin, in the brief moments when he'd found her out for what she was, had treated her with such disdain, but here was the woman who'd done away with him, and she was acting lovingly towards her. A Squib, as her mother often told her, was something a wizard family would do their best to hide. A Squib, she'd say, was a shameful thing. It was something that Tee would do her very best to ignore in public, but always she would be reminded of it no matter where she went. And here she was, baring her full soul, and Lily wasn't looking at her with disgust, or hatred, or even ignoring her shamefully. She was embracing her, hugging her with a warmth she'd craved for so long. And so, Tee thought of the only words that could come to mind. And she repeated them as many times as she could thereafter.

"Thank you."

-Now, dear reader, I'd love to tell you that it ended happily. That Tee Gaunt saw her son blossom into a fine young man and that Voldemort was killed and never returned, but we all know such happiness is for the foolish and the fantasy. A mere few months later after being transferred into Ministry care, Tee Gaunt was poisoned and died before her son even spoke his first word. Voldemort, as you know, was killed in a backfire of a killing curse in his assassination attempt on Harry Potter. Even with the entire dark world at his beck and call, my master has never discerned who plucked the nightshade and placed it into his mother's meals, but he has told me more than once that he doesn't believe it was the servants of the Dark Lord that did so. He thinks it was an overzealous Auror that did it, in their attempt to prevent another Tom Marvolo Riddle. All it did was deprive my master of the affection of his mother. Though Tee never did see Lily Potter or any of her order again, she heard tales of the bravery of the Order of the Phoenix, and had finally realized the truth; that the Gaunts were a doomed lot. That no matter how noble she wanted to think of her family, she could only see a damned legacy of murderers, filth, and villainy. She could only hope that Evrus would revoke his name and move into the future, head held high. But with the grasp of the ministry choking her and her son, Tee could see no future where he could shed his name. She and her son were watched 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Auror after Auror would cycle into the ministry-owned manor, and many a time, they'd cycle out. After she perished, the thought of simply putting the boy into a muggle family and hoping he was born a squib as well passed the ministry's mind, but the Pureblood Families would have nothing of this. Their lobbying allowed Evrus to remain in the ministry's care for the next decade. It was Harry Potter's second year at Hogwartz, and the ministry did their best to hide Potter's fame from the eyes of the young Gaunt, but failed. His pertinent questioning and the Pureblood lobbyists efforts resulted in the beginning of the true Dark Lord's journey, his stepping into the wizarding world, and his interactions with the famous Harry Potter.-


	4. Chapter 4

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The steady sound of a grandfather clock rung diligently out for every second passing, saluting time itself.

_1 part driscumbell, 2 part elf ear, 1 part nightshade, 1 part wolf's bane._

_Stir ferociously in a set cauldron of either silver or mithril, using a broth of fairy blood as a base-_

_**Fairy blood? Elf ear? There must be a substitute for those. Seems a little gruesome, Elly won't get those for me.**_

I turned off my lantern, and pushed my blanket down past my feet with my legs. The thick, dusty and fragile tome, with lettering on the spine read '_A guide to aromanmancy; spike the drink of your target's thoughts!',_ was put on the nightstand next to me. I coughed as quietly as possible.

These old tomes, and this dusty room.

_**If I cough too loudly the landlord this week will notice.**_

I silently stood, and crept across my small room. Even in the dark, I could see the dingy, faded wooden table set, and the dirty, moth-eaten rug beneath it. I made my way to the only thing I actually paid attention to; the fairly large bookcase I was provided for my learning materials. I clicked the lantern's switch in my hand, and brought it to the first row of books.

_Necromancy for the nubile, No hope; using and controlling fear-_

_**Look lower.**_

Second row, third row, fourth oughtta be it.

I bend my knees, and look and come face to face with a large, meaty rat. Its glowing eyes frozen in the light of my lantern.

It cocks its head to the side.

_**I seem to have a reputation amidst the vermin.**_

I brush it aside and it scampers away dejected at losing it's meager scrap, which appears to be a dead bug of some sort. _Substitutions of the scandalous._

_**Perfect.**_

I gingerly take it, and quietly, yet quickly, leap to my bed. Pulling up the covers, I spend a few hours looking through the book for the alternatives.

The noises of the night fade out. The clock grows silent, the wind dies quickly, and all that remains is the task at hand. Even as the sun rises, the cocks crow, and the sounds of the other few tenants waking echoes out, I continue searching for them.

_**Elves ear apparently can be supplanted with a sourdough ball mixed with raw vinegar and sprite dust, but it looks like fairy blood's only alternative is pixie bile, and that's just as violent as-**_

The door opens and I nearly fall out of my bed in surprise, I catch myself, and my eyes meet the wall clock.

10 AM.

_**Reading for eight hours straight?!**_

"You missed breakfast again, Evrus."

I look up to meet the eyes of my main caregiver, Elly Shortswiller.

Long, flowing auburn hair is neatly and effectively tied up behind her pale-skinned head. Her green eyes are accented by plentiful freckles, but as my stomach grumbles and hunger carves its way up my throat, I'm more interested to see in her glove-covered hand, a freshly baked sweetcake.

She lays it down on the table in the center of my small room.

She sighs, and looks down at the book I was devouring.

"'Substitutions of the scandalous?'" She says curiously. She quickly lunges for the book and before I can react, has already grabbed it and raised it to her dutiful eyes.

"Fairy's blood?" She says in shock, and lays the book against the front of her jeans.

"Evrus, what on God's green earth do you want with fairy's blood?"

I collect myself and rise to sit on the bed.

"I was obviously looking for alternatives."

"Very coy. What kind of panacea requires fairy's blood?"

I avoid her gaze.

"I was studying aromanmancy."

"Aromanmancy? That's pretty broad. What particular tincture were you planning on brewing up?"

"None in particular..."

She sighs once more.

"I haven't got the time for this. Have you found any good replacements?"

"Just like that?" I said, suspicion peaking out of my voice.

"Evrus, I have to make my monthly report to the Minister. I can't sit here and lecture you all day. Do you want your reagents or not?"

Giddily, I spend the next few minutes highlighting the only viable replacement for the elves' ear, but hesitated on the fairy's blood substitute.

"Well?" She says impatiently. Her hands remain on her hips, waiting for an answer. I glance up and take in once more my caretaker's appearance.

Despite her obvious Irish heritage, Elly was no-nonsense, and her clothing suited that. A short, blue cloak covered her shoulders, while she wore a plain, white blouse and jeans, with dark knee-high boots.

"Pixie bile was the only reputed replacement."

"Pixie bile? That's disgusting, Evrus."

"But a few sources in here indicate that troll snot mixed with satyr urine can be an equally feasible replacement!" I said desperately.

"We'll try that, then. Even if it's just as vile as the pixie bile."

She flashes a rare smile at me.

"Eat up, Evrus. Can't live empty-stomached. I'll pick up the reagents on my way back from the report meeting."

She deftly lays the book back down on the nightstand, and leaves just as abruptly as she entered.

I take a few seconds, but then hungrily jump to the table and ravenously destroy the sweetcake, scalding its way down my throat into my gullet. I look back at the clock in disbelief at the time.

_**I'd better get on with my chores.**_

The next few hours, I spent slogging through my daily chores, washing the dishes, cleaning the cauldron, sweeping the floors of the kitchen and hallway to my room. All the meanwhile I repeat the recipe.

_**-Using a broth of fairy's blood as a base, leave the cauldron to bubble and froth over, and only when the bubbles begin to burst should you silence the fire. Don't dare to let the mixture cool. Quickly bottle as many needed, up to 6 or so sips in each vial ought to be sufficient. Now, when you desire to loosen the lips of your target, dab the mixture on the nearby surfaces of where you intend to have the conversation, make sure that you don't do more than a bottle, as if it's too strong, the subject will most likely respond with cognitive recognition of the aroma, and that is exactly what an accomplished aromanmancer does not want to happ…**_

In the midst of sweeping I bump right into Lord Vevictus, this week's landlord.

Short for a grown man, he wears a stupidly oversized mustache aboard his face, and wears a pompous suit fit for a butler, and wears a constant look of disappointment on his face.

"Master Evrus!"

I jump at his prickly voice, and realize I'd been whispering to myself while sweeping the kitchen's pantry entryway.

"Yes, Mister Vevictus?" I say as respectfully as I could manage.

"Quit your bellyaching and mumbling! I've got a job for you."

I internally groan. The prospect of what of Victus's 'jobs' greys my otherwise perfect day. He always expects me to do some wizardly chore. Victus has yet to realize that despite my alchemy studies, I have no experience with magic whatsoever. Even after Elly told him multiple times that I had no practical training, he shrugged it off and said "_It's in his blood."_

Whatever that means.

"Er, mister Vevictus, I don't suppose you could wait until Elly gets back?"

"Nonsense boy. Come."

He motions for me to follow.

I lay the broom aside, and walk sheepily behind the demanding middle-aged man.

He takes me further into the manor, and I find myself in the sections Elly refers to as the "noble quarters".

_**This must be where Vevictus lives.**_

It certainly seemed prissy enough. There were gold accents on the royally red rugs, paintings of stuck up nobles on the walls, some moving (I'm still not used to that) and interacting within their painting's surroundings. We came to a door, which led into some sort of private study. It was obviously more for show, as it had meager bookshelves in place of massive statues of griffins and dragons. As if Vevictus has ever even seen one. He walked up to a dark, mahogany desk, which had shelves galore with silver, polished handles, a few books on top of it, but what drew my eye was a small black pillow, with a case on it, and within that case was a vicious looking snake pen.

"This.."

Vevictus lifted the case gently, and brought it eye level to me.

"Is an ancient heirloom of the Slytherin line."

_**Slytherin?.. As in, Salazar Slytherin?**_

"What is it?" I said, and I curious raised my hand to touch it, and Vevictus snapped it shut, almost taking my fingertip with it.

"It's a bloodpen. An artifact that allows one to write with their own blood."

I looked at Vevictus, and he answered quickly.

"Yes, yes, a macabre and simple thing, but it will only take those that meet the oh-so-ancient Salazar's expectations."

"Forgive me, sir, but how is that possible?"

At this, Vevictus looked positively confounded, and almost insulted.

"Possible? My boy, it's like you've never heard of magic at all. Really, what the ministry's done to you is a shame, a shame indeed."

I lowered my head back down at the case, which though it'd been shut, had a glass overhead, which allowed me to look at the dark and metallic snake that adorned the bloodpen.

"I know for a fact that you have magic running through your veins, boy. Your lack of training is irrelevant. This pen, when used to write certain words, and chanted aloud, can cast spells without a wand!"

_**Without a…**_

"Wait, you're saying you want _me_ to do this?"

"Yes, I am. A simple thing, no?"

"No!"

He frumpled his brow at this.

"And why is that?"

"I'm not allowed to use magic, you know that! Elly gets in trouble for letting my practice alchemy, for God's sake!"

"Elly isn't here, nor is the ministry. I am. And I expect you to cast a simple spell."

I gulped down as much fear as I could.

"Mister Vevictus, this isn't right, I could get in serious trouble for-"

He opened the case again, and I looked at the strangely alluring pen.

"Just one spell, a simple one at that."

"How simple?"

"A light spell, you simpleton! _Lumos_."

"_Lumos?_ As in, literally light?"

"Yes, as in light."

"And that's it?"

I bit my lower lip. It'd be interesting to feel magic flowing through me, wouldn't it?

I moved my hand closer to the pen, and could feel Victus's anticipation boiling.

I grasped it, and all of a sudden, the snake morphed and twisted alive, and sunk its fangs deep into my hand.

But where there should have been pain, there was a simple prick, and a _slurp_ing sound.

"How does it feel, my boy?"

I looked, ever perplexed, as the snake continued to siphon my blood, and it continued to feel not pain, but an absence of said pain.

"It's...sucking my blood? And the fangs don't hurt?"

"They **didn't **hurt? That's marvelous!"

I'd never seen such a wide smile on Vevictus' face.

"It is?"

"Yes, yes, it is! Even He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was reportedly hurt excruciatingly when he attempted to use a Slytherin bloodpen."

"What happens to someone who isn't at all to Slytherin's standards?"

His smile didn't vanish at all, only accentuating his fervor.

"Oh, the poor blooded? They die viciously."

Suddenly thoughts raced through my brain.

Certain venoms don't cause pain, do they? And many of those are fast-acting deadly ones at that. Does that mean?..

All of a sudden, the _slurp_ing noise stopped.

"Well?"

"Well what? It's stopped sucking my blood."

Victus hurriedly rushed, grabbed a parchment, and laid it before me.

"Marvelous! Now write _Lumos_ clearly on this page.

I hesitated, but decided in for a penny, in for a pound.

I painstakingly carved into the thick parchment the letter S, and watched as they burned alight into the parchment with a ghostly blue glint.

"How utterly marvelous!"

Victus was practically jumping for joy at the result.

"Now chant it aloud! _Lumos_!"

I swallowed the last of my resignation, and said clearly, and slowly aloud.

"_Lumos!_"

And as quickly as it appeared, the wording faded back into the parchment. Anticlimatic at first, the parchment quickly frumpled and crunched together, flew up, and burst alight with a pale aqua aura. I could feel the energies flowing around me, and in that moment, I smiled joyfully at the result of that simple leap.

What I couldn't know, was that the same spell that had gotten my mother caught years before, was monitoring my current manor, and a quick, subtle flash of magical energies was detected, and that warranted a quick and visceral response. A squad of Aurors was dispatched, even as I returned to my duties around the manor, I couldn't help but feel the energy flowing around me vividly, and couldn't stifle the joy I felt in my heart, that I'd finally realized that I was, indeed, a wizard. A joy, that the Aurors would not feel the same about.

I was keenly aware of the magical energies surrounding me now, as though I'd been wakened from a stale, shallow slumber. It was an incredible feeling, it was as though the world itself could be grasped, and I could feel how utterly minuscule I was in the grand scheme of things, but I felt no despair, instead, I felt pride at my cog working to establish its pecking order in the hierarchy of the world.

I returned to my room, and simply sat in my bed, closed my eyes, and for a lack of a better term, meditated. I felt the prickling sensation of a disturbance in the energies around me, and it alarmed me.

_**This sixth sense could be playing tricks on my mind.**_

I gathered myself to my feet, and was about to open the door, when the door opened of its own accord, and in the doorway stood the intimidating Auror I had grown to fear, known as Guffry. Guffry was a tall, average build man who wore the scars of the first Wizarding War with a beguiling grimace. He wore a dark attire that did nothing to disguise his horror-filled demeanor. He wore a small pair of small, circle-shaped manacles that covered little of his bulging, seething eyes. Behind him was one of the housekeepers, and of course, Mister Vevictus.

Guffry soundlessly stepped passed me and began to search my room without a single word to explain his presence. To my knowledge, he only appears when the ministry wants to punish me for something. When I first practiced alchemy, he appeared, and every so often he returns to search for illegal or immoral reagents that Elly procured for me.

_**Good thing we learned early on to replace any troublesome materials with less controversial subtitutes.**_

Finally, he came upon my alchemy tools, and a common-seen sneer appeared on his face.

"I see Miss Shortswiller is still humoring your dangerous hobbies." He said, as he he brushed the crushtable's surface, and brought his gloved hand to take a whiff of it's contents.

As Victus prepared to speak up, Guffry interrupted without a care in the world.

"Wolf's Bane? Nightshade? What are you, a werewolf hunter?" He said as he glared at my table viciously.

"They're not illegal ingredients Miste-" I spoke timidly, but was interrupted, as was the norm when he came to question and interrogate.

"Illegal, no, suspicious, most certainly. Nightshade can be especially suspicious considering its potent poisonous properties. Planning an assassination are we Gaunt?"

Victus, with a fury that seemed to throw itself more of patronage than snobbery, walked past me and snatched a potion bottle from his hand.

"This is preposterous! How dare you rifle through my tenant's belongings? It goes against several laws of the ministry, and I know you're on thin ice already, Guff!"

As Guffry prepared to retort, Victus raised his hand.

"Your ill-mannered bigotry of the boy is born not of true investigation, but pure superstition! You accuse him of murder? He's barely old enough to ride the trolly by himself, let alone commit a crime!" He looked wholeheartedly furious, and I had a rare moment of appreciation of Victus.

_**I had no idea he had felt so strongly about me.**_

"Unless you have some sort of legitimate reason to be here, I suggest you leave, Guffry, or I will inform your superiors of your absolutely outlandish claims." He said, and planted his hands defiantly on his hips.

Guffry slowly looked to me, and began to drawl as though nothing at happened.

"Why, yes, Vevictus, I do indeed have a reason to be here."

He strolled passed Victus, and came within a few steps of me and looked at me, boring his veteran eyes as much as could be allowed.

"You see, the arcane scrying has revealed-"

A gasp came from Victus.

"Arcane scrying? That was outlawed nearly 7 years ago! It's a blatant misuse of war-magic to spy on citizens!"

"Regardless of the illegal nature of it, the ministry felt it prudent to cast it on any dwelling of the Gaunt boy to make sure that he remained nice and docile."

He paused for a moment to consider his venom-laced words, and continued.

"But as I was previously stating, it revealed that a burst of his own magic, signature and all, originated here in this house."

_**He must be talking about the**_** lumos ****_I casted in Victus' study!_**

As soon as this was said, all my tells sprang to give my nervousness away. My arms ached to itch my ears, my eyes refused to make contact with Guffry, and I sidestepped anxiously on my heels.

Victus saw this, and promptly began his defense.

"That's nonsense, the boy's been in his room all day aside from his chores. Unless you prefer him in bonds 24 hours a day?"

"It'd be a start, wouldn't it?" Guffry responded promptly.

A struggle appeared in the doorway, and past the housekeeper came a mane of red, unkempt hair, and a pair of green eyes that marked safety.

I dashed to the doorway, and embraced Elly.

She looked softly down at me, and then back up at Guffry.

"I'm in charge of the keeping of the Heir. I wasn't notified of any prompt housecalls. Is there a good reason for this?"

Guffry sighed.

"Agent Shortswiller, your ward was caught using magic of an unknown and undoubtedly dangerous variety."

"Caught? By whom?" She said and stepped pass me to face Guffry.

"Not by whom, but by what!" Victus snapped, and then impatiently stepped past Guffry to get closer to Elly.

"Did you know the ministry allowed an Arcane Scrying spell to be cast upon my house, Swiller?"

A look of understanding spread across Elly freckled face.

"I see," She began, before turning to Guffry, "The scrying detected an outburst of arcane energies? Isn't that normal for a boy his age?"

"It would be," Guffry retorted, "If the magic wasn't unidentifiable and most damning, subtle."

"Subtle? Subtle how?" Elly asked.

"Subtle as in it was so light in it's presence that it was, with a calculation by our scriers, 95% most likely an intentional design of whatever spell was cast." Guffry answered.

"95%? That is pretty suspicious," Elly agreed, and turned to me. "What of it Evrus? Did you cast this mysterious spell?"

I looked to Guffry, then Elly, and finally Victus. Despite his bravery earlier, I could see Victus was beyond scared of being found out. But I quickly looked back into the eyes of Guffry and knew that a lie would only make me suffer more.

"I casted _lumos_." I said, head hung in shame.

"_Lumos_? Why?" Elly questioned dutifully.

"No doubt looking for an escape route." Guffry said, and restarted his thorough search of the room by kneeling down on his knees to look underneath my bed. "Now only to find that, and the wand, and I'll bring the boy before-"

Vevictus interrupted the inquisition with a single sentence. "I made the boy do it!"

Guffry quickly rose to his feet with a look of confusion on his face, and Elly looked at him, perplexed.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Elly asked, beyond baffled.

"More importantly, where is your wand? I need it for evidence." Guffry continued.

"No wand, Guffry. And for you information," Victus said, raising a finger to Elly, "I told you the boy could do magic! I had him use a bloodpen."

"_A blood pen?! (A blood pen?!)_" Both Aurors resounded out.

"Where did you get such a vile item of such repute?" Guffry said, reaching for his wand in evident paranoia.

"It was a completely legal purchase from a muggle, thank you very much. The boy casted _lumos_ so I could prove to this pompous ass of an Auror, yes, you, Elly, that the boy was more than ready to start his teachings." Victus explained, pointing at Elly during his insulting of her.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Evrus isn't allowed to use magic, he's forbidden from it! Who knows how the pen could have reacted regardless?" Elly shouted indignantly.

"The Pen did more than accept him, it revered him! The boy says he felt no pain, meaning Salazar himself has recognized the boy's latent potential!" Victus said excitedly.

"Making him all the more dangerous. But regardless, I'm taking you in, Vevictus. Knowing you, you'll get a slap on the wrist, but God as my witness the Gaunt will never get you as a landlord again!" Guffry said, pinning Victus' arms behind his back and leading him out of my room, and no doubt, out of the house.

The hours waned on, and I sat quietly in my room, pondering the entire situation. In a sudden burst of needing something to distract myself, I opened my nightstand's top drawer and pulled out the newspaper that had been haunting me.

_Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, conquers a masquerading Dark Wizard by the name of Quirrel, yes, that Quirrel!_

The headline drew me in, as I heard people talk constantly about the 'Boy Who Lived', but when I found out exactly what that meant, I was determined to meet him.

_**He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was supposedly a relative of the Gaunts, which means he's the reason the ministry has me in lock and key. And this Potter ended his reign of horror. **_

The more I dwelled on it, the more I realized that aromanmancy was too important to give up on. Since I couldn't wield magic legally, I have to rely on the more subtle approach.

_**The minister is coming to visit in two weeks. I have 14 days to perfect the brew. If I don't, I'll stay locked up in this coffin until the day I die.**_

And with that, my resolve couldn't be broken.

Elly returned the next day with the reagents.

"_Lumos_ huh?" She said, as she laid the grocer's bag down on my dining table, and looked at me worriedly.

I groaned in response.

"Victus would never have let it go! I just wanted to move on with my day." I said, with no conviction in my words.

"Uh huh," She said, just as unconvinced as myself. "And which part of that do you want me to believe?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, it felt good...it felt, great, in fact," I confessed, "But I wouldn't have done it if Victus hadn't made it such an ultimatum."

She stared at me with that same look. The look that told me that she was worrying incessantly about the outcome of this debacle.

"I get it, Evrus," She stated, "Magic is forbidden to you, so it calls to you"

"But you gotta remember, it's for a reason."

I narrowed my eyes in frustration.

"Because I'm a Gaunt?"

She sighed.

"Precisely. The Ministry doesn't even acknowledge there's a surviving Gaunt left. They want the line to have died with _He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named_."

"Was he really a Gaunt?" I asked earnestly.

"Only He and Dumbledore would have really known."

We sat in silence, each thinking of what was said and what needed to be said.

"Does it really matter if I'm a Gaunt?" I questioned, more to myself then to Elly.

"Not to me, or anybody worth their wand. But the ministry's never been one to take half measures or chances for that matter."

She paused, and then continued.

"Listen, just get some rest. It's already late. I'll fix some bacon and eggs in the morning for ya'."

I smiled, and Elly rose and left.

_**As if. I've got to start the first brew now, or I'll never get the perfect brew done in time!**_

And so it was that I spent the rest of that week brewing 3 batches of Odorem of Endearmentis. Meticulously, I watched as the bubbles froze in midair, cooling to the outside air, and bottle the mixture one after another until my cauldron was as empty as possible. After it was done, I looked at the warzone of my efforts. Powders there, clippings here, it was a sight to behold.

_**Odorem of Endearmentis is a grade S+ alchemical mixture. Even the masters of Alchemy at the Ministry would do a double take. But I'm not going to second guess what I've been working as since I could speak. If I know ANYTHING it's my way around an alchemy table. When the Minister comes for his monthly interview…**_

_Knock, knock, knock._

_**?!**_

"Who's there?" I said wearily, rubbing my eyes.

To my surprise, I was greeted by a landscape of red fur, and steaming plate of griddlecakes. Instinctively, I glanced to the clock, and found it to be 6am.

"Heard you working. Figured you were near done with the slowing up all that grinding and whirring. Here's breakfast, Sevrus." Elly said, and put it down. Syrupy and steaming, the Griddlecakes brought my stomach to life, roaring hungrily.

I pounced on the Griddlecakes, and meanwhile, Elly walked over to my table. With all the different reagents, it was no doubt a sight. She then laid eyes on the 3 bottles of _Endearmentis _in all their purple-pink glory.

"Wow, all this. What'd you brew? Eternal youth?"

Her genuine question made me laugh, and nearly choke on a bundle of griddlecake.

"No, nothing so stupid."

"Stupid? Who wouldn't want to be young forever?"

"Those potions just make you age inside twice as fast. Sure, you'll look good on your deathbed but you'll be dying at age 30. They're not practical."

"Oh? Then what'd you brew?"

_**I knew this was coming.**_

"Odorem of atrocity."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm tired of people interrupting my studies. It's a complicated potion that when doused on my door, will make people consciously avoid it. Privacy to study at my leisure."

"And avoid your chores?"

"No." I said, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. "Doesn't work like a spell. It can't force people away. So if you're 100% sure you want to go in my room, you can, it's just those that aren't won't."

"Smart." She said, and ruffled my black-as-night hair. "Well, I'm off to the Ministry to make my rounds. Try not to get into any trouble. Oh, and even if Vevictus isn't around anymore, make sure to sweep and do some of your chores. Last day 'til we move again."

"Course, Elly. I'll be sure to clean up."

_**Elly's an adept. She knows what an Odorem would look like. It's a good thing I haven't shown off my Odorems of Atrocities before, she'd spot the difference.**_

For the morning's part, I spent my time cleaning up and rebottling the _Endearmentis_. Afterwards, a shower, and then some of the less bothersome chores that Vevictus had assigned to me when we had arrived Sunday night.

Tomorrow, no doubt, the Minister would come to check on the last surviving member of the Gaunt species. By then, I'd have doused my Endearmentis in my room and gotten ready. I'd have to do a test run, no doubt, and probably on Elly, too.

A tinge of guild burned through my gut, but I swallowed it. I had no choice. Elly wouldn't like being manipulated but I had to test it.

And then, then I would be free.


End file.
